We’ve covered stories about Somalia’s pirates in the past, but their murderous depredations are in the news headlines once again. This latest incident piqued my interest because it happens to overlap with news about my favorite Viking country: a Danish freighter has been captured off the coast of Somalia. Here’s the story from yesterday’s Copenhagen Post:

The Foreign Ministry has now gotten involved in the case of a Danish freight ship that was captured by pirates late Friday in the Arabian Sea. The ship and five-person crew of freighter Danica White are being held by pirates after being hijacked Saturday in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Somalia, reported the Operative Command of the Royal Danish Navy (SOK).

The ship is owned by H. Folmer & Co in Copenhagen and was carrying 10 tonnes of building materials.

SOK was notified Saturday by the shipper that the vessel had been on its way from Dubai to Mombassa, Kenya and had been in contact with a French warship when captured. The French ship could not follow the freighter into Somali waters and no further contact has been possible with the ship or its crew since Saturday.

The ship was reportedly localised [they mean “located” — BB] Monday afternoon in Somalia by private investigation firm Protocol, according to Politiken newspaper, which reported that it is anchored in the port town of Hobyo, 700 kilometres up the coast from Mogadishu.

Lars Thuesen, the Foreign Ministry’s chief of consular affairs, told public broadcaster DR the ministry is doing everything in its power to secure the safety of the crew.

‘We’ve set up a task force with all the relevant Danish authorities, which have been summoned many times during the weekend. In addition we have close contact with the ship’s owners and the crewmen’s families.’

Authorities are now waiting to hear from the hijackers and what their demands are for release of the ship and crew.

The hijacking occurred nearly 240 nautical miles off the coast of Somalia, an area known to be pirate-infested. The pirates, believed to be Somali, now have four foreign ships in their possession, including a Taiwanese vessel.

One of the Taiwanese crewmembers has been killed by the pirates and experts are warning that the lives of the Danes are in danger as well. A spokesperson for an east African shipping association told Reuters that it was likely the pirates would demand ransom.

In this case the Danes sound just as wussy as their American counterparts under similar circumstances. They’ve “set up a task force”. They’re “doing everything in their power”. And, of course, they’re waiting to receive the pirates’ ransom demands.

Presumably the climax of this little drama will occur when the Danish government sends a strongly-worded note to the Somali authorities — assuming that any such can be found.